Today I'm at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, and it's a beautiful day.

The message I want to share with you today is to always do your best.

This is one of the four agreements author Don Miguel Ruiz talks about in his book, The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom.

I believe we are.

Sometimes kids are told that they're not living up to their potential. But are they really?

I think they're doing the best they can.

That's why we have to love our parents for what they give us (or maybe don't give us) because they are doing the best they can in that moment.

So, maybe you didn't get your English paper written on time, but were you trying your best?

I think we should always make a valiant effort. And we can also love others, trusting that they're making their valiant effort.

Something to think about. 

I hope you have an amazing day. 

Yes, your mind is powerful.

I was reminded yesterday about an exercise of writing down two things:

1. What I would love or want to do in my life
2. The reason for doing that

One of the things I wrote was I want to laugh more with my son because it allows us to connect.

It's fun. It's joyous to be around a teenager who is laughing. His laughter is contagious and reminds me not to take life too seriously.

I wrote that yesterday morning, and here's what happened at dinner.

He decided to teach me about adolescent terminology. We laughed and laughed as he tried to explain slang terms like "fanum taxing."

If you don't know what fanum taxing is, well, it has something to do with stealing a friend's food.

Very interesting.

The mind is so powerful in what it is manifesting.

Is it creating a life of "I'm sick, always sick" and then staying sick?

Or knowing "I'm healthy, I can be healthy, I can overcome anything."

Every day, keep in mind, in what way are you allowing your mind to be powerful?

Are you allowing your thoughts to hinder and limit you? Or are they expanding your life?

I hope you have an amazing day. 

Alignment journaling is a really cool thing that I've been doing for a while.

In my 12 step program, I just called it a daily inventory.

Each night you write down...

• Your thoughts
• Your feelings
• Your actions
• What values you followed throughout the day

You're doing this to see is if you are in alignment with your true self. 

It's an opportunity to look back on your day and see what you loved and where you can do better.

Are you staying in alignment with your goals?

Are you staying in alignment with the person that you want to be?

Alignment journaling will help us make better conscious choices and get back on track when we've steered away with our thoughts, our attitude or our actions. Writing daily can help us keep going in the direction of what we would love.

So I encourage you today to start alignment journaling.

It'll only take about five minutes a day to create a daily inventory that lets you look back later to see how much you've grown.

A short but sweet message from my nieces this week — Happy Thanksgiving!

I love these girls and I'm always grateful for the time I get to spend with them.

We've been getting creative and talking about thankfulness.

What should we be grateful for?

Everything.

That's right. Everything.

I know it's not always easy, but it's worth looking for the unexpected blessings. (And if you'd like encouragement in this, explore this collection of videos about gratitude.)

I'm grateful for you and the difference you make in this world!

Hope you have an amazing day.

My voice is a little hoarse today.

It's one of two things.

Either allergies...

or the fact that I screamed so hard at my son's robotics competition, and we got 9th place!

I'm so excited.

You might wonder why I'm so excited for 9th place?

Well, compared to last year — they were 30 something — it is a major leap forward.

It's like a whole new team.

They are growing exponentially.

And I know some of y'all are having a really hard time because of the election, and stepping into fear.

But I want to encourage you.

You can be happy no matter what the situation.

If you're upset about something, do something about it.

And then allow yourself to step back into joy.

Don't let yourself live in fear.

Enjoy 9th place at the robotics competition.  

I got a lot of amazing feedback from last week's post.

One from Mary Bridget said:

"My prayer is we come together as one because it's not one person in Washington that brings unity, healing and love to our nation. We must remember that peace does not lie in outside circumstances, but within ourselves."

So it's about us feeling love and peace. We can be united by that.

Because you have power and peace within you.

When you feel that, and you radiate that out to the world, it will make a difference.

So let us go into peace and go into love.

Gratitude helps a lot and there is so much for us to be grateful for.

I'm grateful I've got hot running water and electricity in my house. 

How about you?

What are you grateful for today?

My message for you today is to Stay in your Truth.

Our point is to love —  love others and love ourselves.

That is the whole point of being here.

Don't jump into fear. It does nothing.

Don't jump into worry. That does nothing.

All you can do is stay true to who you are, keep moving forward in love. . . 

and the world can be a greater place.

I'm kind of in shock today.

But I'm staying in love and I'm staying out of worry.

And I hope you are able to do that too.

If there is any way I can support you, please reach out to me. 

I'm hanging out with a little kitty cat today that I call Ragdoll, because when you pick her up, she's like a little ragdoll in your hands.

I'm having a blast.

But it wasn't so great earlier...

I had my work shirt on and she clawed a big hole in it because she was having a good time too.

But I made a choice.

Do I want to go back into the cuteness of this kitty?

Or do I want to stay in the Oh, my gosh, she ruined my shirt?

Shirts can be replaced.

Happiness is a choice.

So I'm choosing to stay in the now and just love spending time with this beautiful kitty cat.

I hope you choose happiness today.

And I hope you get to hang out with a kitty cat soon, too.

I read the coolest thing on my "Just for Today" calendar.

It said, "I remember today is like a blank canvas. Every action, thought, and feeling adds to the canvas. What will I paint today?"

There's something powerful to think about.

Are we painting happy thoughts or negative thoughts?

Are we painting complaining words or affirming words?

What vision are we placing in our mind of where we'd love to be?

Or are we staying stuck in the past where we're unhappy?

Your life is a painting. It's a canvas.

You get to be the creator of your own experience.

Each day is a fresh start, and we have the power to choose what we place on our life’s canvas.

Whatever you focus on will come to fruition.

Not sure what you’ve been focusing on? Just take a moment to look around.

Your life is a reflection of your inner thoughts, beliefs, and actions.

It can be a hard fact, but it's true.

So today, ask yourself: What kind of masterpiece will you create?

This is your life, your blank canvas, and your opportunity to paint a vision of joy, abundance, and fulfillment. 

I heard the coolest thing the other day about staying in the now, and I just have to share it with you:

"When my past calls, I send it to voicemail because it doesn’t have anything new to say."

I absolutely love that!

Think about it – we don’t need to make room in our day for the past.

We don’t have to listen to those old thoughts again, or even let other people bring them up.

We can’t change the past, so why give it any more energy?

When those past thoughts come up, relinquish them.

Send them to voicemail. And then just delete them!

You don’t have to listen to them again. Instead, turn your thoughts to the future, to what you’d love to create, and give your energy to that.

So, how’s your voicemail doing? Let me know.

Hope you have an amazing day!